Should Visitors Have to Register to Search Listings on Your IDX Website?

Ever wonder if the registration requirement is hurting the search volume on your IDX website?

Visit a variety of real estate websites and you will quickly find that it’s a common practice to require visitors to submit their contact information before being able to search for listings. With good reason, I mean how else would you be able to follow up and get new leads?

However, just as you are gaining clients, you can potentially be missing out on some too.

Deciding whether or not to require registration on their IDX website can be tricky, so here are some of the pros and cons for requiring registration:

Pros of Requiring Registration on Your IDX Website:

• You capture the contact information of your visitors, which allows you to follow-up with an email campaign or phone call (depending on what information you capture).
• Builds a sense of value – after all, good information usually doesn’t come free, right?
• Helps separate the serious buyers from the casual browsers.

Cons of Requiring Registration on Your IDX Website:

• Visitors may opt to simply go to a website that doesn’t require registration.
• May be frustrating or too time consuming to folks that just want the information without the hassle.
• Possibility of false hope if a visitor’s interest lies strictly with the information and not your actual services.
• May instill the fear that you will start hounding them for their business (hopefully not the case!)

Still think it’s a good idea to require registration? Here are a few tips that you may find valuable if registration is mandatory on your IDX website:

1. Keep registration forms short – do you need much more than a name, number or email address? Visitors should not have to answer a mile long list of questions in order to perform a search.

 

2. Clearly state your intentions – what do you plan on doing with the information you collect on your IDX website? State whether you intend on emailing or calling, that way there won’t be any surprises.

 

3. Build value before asking – consider allowing visitors to perform a few searches before bringing the gates down. If they get a taste, they’ll be more open to forking over the information needed to continue the hunt.

Is registration required on your IDX website?

Photo Credit: Shane Roxburgh